Early in the backstage musical “42nd Street,” the director Julian Marsh tells his Depression-era cast that they’re going to “dance til your feet fall off for 23 bucks a week.”

The cast members of the Manatee Players production are clearly dancing their feet off in this bright, funny and colorful musical about the efforts to stage a big Broadway show called “Pretty Lady” and one young dancer’s dream of making her debut.

Director and choreographer Rick Kerby has staged several rousing tap routines — along with numerous other dance styles— from the opening audition number through “We’re in the Money,” “Lullaby of Broadway” and the title song. His large cast doesn’t seem to miss a step.

The tapping is loud and vibrant, but it too often misses a key ingredient — a sense of joy. On Thursday’s opening night, the cast knew all the steps and every move. But the dancing frequently looked almost mechanical, as if they were trying too hard to remember each step. Hopefully, after a few more performances, the dancers can settle in and start to enjoy themselves, or at least look like they are.

That’s not to say it’s not good as it is. It is amazing to think that a cast of community theaters performers, some of whom may never have tap danced before, actually pull off so many big numbers so well and with so much energy.

And they manage to do all that dancing while singing with power and fine harmony under the musical direction of Rick Bogner. You can hear and understand every word.

The cast also has fun with the humorously and intentionally cliched dialogue that brings a tongue-in-cheek tone to the classic story from the 1930s Busby Berkeley film.

Kerby has put together a charming cast led by Sarah Cassidy, who has been seen primarily as an actress and singer, not as much as a dancer like Peggy Sawyer, her character who has just arrived from Allentown, Pennsylvania, withor dreams of making it big on broadway. There are other dancers on stage who tap with more force, which diminishes some of the impact of Peggy being a great discovery, but Cassidy plays her with a nice nervous, innocent energy. And that allows for the right contrast with Michelle Anaya, who has a sardonic and imperious tone as the aging diva Dorothy Brock. We can almost overlook that when they’re sitting side by side, they don’t look much different in age.

Alan Tulin plays Marsh with strength and command, forceful but with a friendly touch. Brian Chunn look a bit older than your stereotypical male juvenile, but he plays singer and dancer Billy Lawlor with a sense of fun, as do Kyle Ann Lacertosa and Mike Nolan as the show’s writers and comic foils. Angelo Jasa brings verve to his role as the dance captain and Christina Capehart is a joy as the boisterous Anytime Annie. And you have to get credit to Joseph Rabella, who dances while leaping across a series of platform coins during the frenzied “We’re in the Money.”

Becky Evans' costumeshave the right period feel and shimmer in the glittering finale under the colorful lighting by Joseph P. Oshry. Michael Newton Brown’s sets look, in general, attractively simple, but are probably far more complex, particularly a lit-up staircase that appears for the finale. An effect with an overhead mirror during “Dames” may have some impact for those seated in the center of the theater, but misses the mark for the rest of us.

The cast of "42nd Street" dances to "Lullaby of Broadway" at the Manatee Performing Arts Center. BRIAN CRAFT PHOTO/MANATEE PLAYERS

Still, I found myself laughing again at lines I’ve heard more than a dozen times over the years, and enjoying the energy and style of the performances. And with a few extra smiles, those dance routines will look even better.

Jay Handelman

Jay Handelman is the theater and television critic for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, where he has worked since 1984. He also is President of the Foundation of the American Theatre Critics Association and a two-time past chairman of the association's executive committee. He can be reached by email or call (941) 361-4931. Follow him at @jayhandelman on Twitter. Make sure to "Like" Arts Sarasota on Facebook for news and reviews of the arts.

Last modified: August 12, 2016
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